MESA, Ariz. _ Spring training was once a time for teams to forget the past and focus on what's ahead.
But this is the second straight season where unsigned free agents are bountiful, and many teams could completely change their outlook with one or two signings.
Is the game changing for keeps, or is it just a blip in the long history of escalating player salaries?
Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks, who will be a free agent after 2020, said he wasn't sure what the free agent glut means for the future of baseball.
"It's interesting for sure," Hendricks said Tuesday on the first official day of Cubs camp. "We want to play against the best competition. I think there are a lot of teams that could improve by adding guys that are out there. It's definitely a strange coincidence what's happening right now. I'm not sure if it's going to last or not. It's just one of those things (where) we're kind of sitting back and waiting also, with everyone else."
Justin Verlander, on the other hand, thinks it's more than a strange coincidence. The Astros ace on Monday tweeted "the system is broken," referring to the 100 or so remaining free agents.
"They blame 'rebuilding' but that's BS," Verlander tweeted. "You're telling me you couldn't sign Bryce [Harper] or Manny [Machado] for 10 years and go from there? Seems like a good place to start a rebuild to me. 26-36 is a great performance window too."
Of course, the Astros had a $26 million payroll at the start of 2013 when they were in the midst of their rebuild, while Verlander was signing a seven-year, $180 million extension with the Tigers that made him the highest-paid pitcher in the game. He currently makes $28 million. But back in '13 Verlander wasn't publicly complaining about rebuilding teams like the Astros declining to sign free-agents to 10-year deals and pocketing the savings while their young nucleus developed. Like everyone else, he probably assumed salaries would continue to skyrocket, as they did until 2017.
The Cubs also profited by a rebuild and won a championship in 2016. They are a team that could improve by signing a one of the prime-time free agents like Machado or Harper, not to mention closer Craig Kimbrel. But the team isn't budging from its stance about sticking to the budget, and no big signing appears likely before the start of the season.
Hendricks said he understands management's thinking.
"One hundred percent," he said. "And if you look around the team, we have the guys. I think we have the guys to get it done, and it has been that way through the years. It's just executing on the field. That's what it comes down to, so if you can't make improvements there, this is where you have to make improvements, coming out to spring, getting ready for our games to start and taking it day by day."
